Paradise Paradox
by lil mutt face grl
Summary: Same general plot as Wolf's Rain with an added female character and a twist at the end. Attempt at being not so much profound as eye-opening for some and conversation inducing for others. The series was a theological masterpeice.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - The City of Wolves

_There's someone that calls to me. Someone that says I can make a difference. They're telling me…to find a place called paradise._

Curled up in a ball of strikingly diverse colors, a lone malnourished wolf opened its eyes sluggishly. The female lifted her head, mouth watering, at the smell of food. Painfully she lifted her body to all fours and made her way from the dark alley into the sun. Except when she looked toward the sky the sun wasn't actually there. It was the same thing in every dome-city.

Her eyes found the source of the smell; a city vender cooking on an old rusted grill. Quietly she made her way over to the stand and without looking at the food asked the vender how much they cost.

"A dollar fifty."

"Oh." Dejectedly she turned away and continued down the street.

Once she made it to a spot that seemed deserted she sat down exhausted and began to eat her stolen goods. Halfway through the second parcel her ears perked up at the sound of a low rumble; undeniably wild. Without a second thought to her stomach the food dropped and she dared a peak around the alleys edge.

Two wolves were facing off; one white and the other grey.

She watched as the grey wolf ran in an opposing direction, knowing full well that the white wolf would follow. Not wanting to loose two others like her, the young wolf gave chase from within the shadows.

Both wolves entered a deserted area and in her pursuit she was brought to the top of a building. Carefully she hid herself inside the stairwell and watched as the wolves exchanged bitter words. When one launched at the other her head turned away. She could tell they were getting ready to go at it again and couldn't bear the growls any longer. She ran back down the stairwell, passing a small red-headed child along the way.

For a while after the female hid herself in an alley of little attention. When her senses said that all was clear and calm she made her way about the city.

Oddly enough she couldn't remember anything about her past. Even more strange was that this fact didn't seem to bother her. She was here for a reason; everyone played their parts in life.

When night fell upon the city and the moon went unseen the female laid herself to sleep in an abandoned building.

**A/N - I think it's only right if I make a few points at this moment. **

**1. I have the entire plot written out (excluding a possible epilouge.). ****Since episodes 15-17 are all flashbacks, I've decided to exclude them. Therefore So far there are 25 chapters with the possibility of a 26th. **

**2. I do not own Wolf's Rain and am in no way affiliated with the creators or characters (although I wouldn't mind getting to know a little of Tsume of Kiba). This is a disclaimer to everything Wolf's Rain (including plot, amazingness, and brain problems created within). **

**3. Updates should be either weekly or every other week, depending on my work schedule. **

**Lastly, I would just like to thank you for reading the first chapter, it was written at 4:30 in the morning (I've had no sleep). Once her name is revealed (chapter 2) then I won't be using so many she/her/female/wolf. Please spare a moment and review. Feedback welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – A Wolf That Does Not Know**

Tsume left the sorry group of humans in search for peace and a bite to eat. The group was beginning to doubt his judgment and even so he didn't care. They were just tools to provide him with a, if not comforting, easy life.

The grey wolf stayed back in the alleys making his way to the old abandoned building he had claimed as his own. It took minutes to arrive at the crumbling hallow stone called 'home'. Perhaps home wasn't the right way of phrasing it, after all the building was just a place of residency.

These days, however, everything seemed to blur together, nothing had a clear picture or meaning. The only exemption for Tsume was that white wolf. He could picture the snowy wolf with crystal vision. There were no words to describe that picture except for one; raw.

On his way up the stairs, Tsume halted as a scent everter his nose and for a second he thought it was _that_ wolf. Inhaling deeply, he began his accent again with the knowledge that there was yet another wolf in town and this one was particularly feminine.

By time his paws hit the roofs surface the, correctly concluded, female wolf was crouched down waiting for his arrival. She wasn't baring teeth and Tsume took that as a sign that she would wait to be provoked before attacking.

"Who are you?" Tsume asked taking a few more steps onto the building top.

The strikingly colorful female skirted around the question, "You were fighting another wolf here yesterday."

"Yes, this is my…place of residency."

Subtly she changed position from attack to defense, "What's your name?"

"Tsume, and yours?" He folded in on himself until his body rested comfortably in a sitting position.

The female hesitated and looked off to the left where a few birds were creating a ruckus over a scrap of garbage. "My name's Suzume*."

"Fitting, you look like a sparrow." He answered in reference to her fur, which was colored light brown, a burgundy and white.

The wolf named Suzume suddenly looked skittish and began looking in the distance at the dome covered sky. "Where are you from?"

Suzume was lost in her whirling thoughts as she whispered her answer of 'I don't know'.

"You don't know?" He asked incredulously.

The multicolored wolf kept staring at the sky. She unexpectedly felt the need to go someplace, run somewhere, leave. Suddenly she was running and jumping from roof to roof.

Tsume was surprised by her sudden motion but took leave after her. He wouldn't let yet another wolf, one that was beginning to take shape in his mind, leave. She was fast, he'd give her that, but he caught up to only a few yards distance in seconds. One more leap and they'd be side by side.

Something from below caught his eyes, though, and he stopped short turning to watch the scene below. A young pup was being aimed at with a gun. Tsume looked over his shoulder to see the female wolf had disappeared from sight. Growling he dropped down to rescue the frozen pup.

…

It was twilight by time Suzume found a nice quiet alleyway to sleep in. Once settled her eyes closed on their own accord and a dream overcame her.

Everything was blurry,

Like watercolors in the rain,

shapes were indiscernible.

She was running.

No,

She was following something,

Someone.

Everything went black.

A growth,

A bud,

A blooming flower.

The pungent, but sweet smell of something tore Suzume from sleep.

Then it was gone.  
…

*Suzume (I'm hoping) means sparrow in Japanese, which will correlate with the story (although perhaps not too much) later on.

**A/N –** So sorry for the delay, my schedule got messed up. I just got back from camping today. Besides that little mishap, things are flowing nicely and I hope to be on an every other week schedule. Should something else like this happen I'll be sure to warn you guys before hand.

Also, sorry this is short, but it's just the way Suzume's part plays out in the episode...which is to say not very much. .

Now, on to the good stuff!

Thank you so much for the reviews and alerts and everything else. They really do mean a lot to me, just to see that someone out there is interested! Keep them coming, because I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter.

Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – Escaping**

It was impossible for Suzume to fall back to sleep that night, not after that scream and the pain that made her heart seize up and shudder for the hours that led to sunrise. When the bent light of the sun finally made it through the dome, Suzume was already nearly halfway across the city from the alley she had chosen to sleep in. Though the morning passed by quickly, her paws dragged on still until she had made a great circle back to where she started.

The city felt smaller today, because Suzume felt like a caged bird. She needed to be free of the dome and suddenly it felt that all her fears of leaving had disappeared into the night. Something had changed in that those few short hours and she was sure it all had to do with that smell and the voice which constantly called to her.

The sound of sirens from nearby caused the female wolf to freeze and the fur on her back to stand on end. She hated that sound.

It was coming closer and with a soft gust of wind the scent of their pursuit. The grey wolf; no, Tsume. She stilled herself and tried to listen for the beating of his paws against the pavement, but the sirens were distracting her. In annoyance she made her way to the end of the alley and peaked around the corner, letting herself fall into illusion. Only two short blocks she spotted him running her way. Then he jumped onto a dumpster and used his new post to get a clear shot to the roof of a one story building.

The car from which the loud sirens came from turned hastily down the cross street in hopes of cutting off the wolf. Suzume quickly made her way to the top of the building, which had hid her from curious eyes. Once on top she had a clear view over the smaller buildings and instantly spotted Tsume. Without a second thought she began to run parallel to him on the opposing side of the street.

He was stopped short when a dog jumped in front of him, however, and was beginning to be trapped in from nearly all sides. The dog lunged just as Tsume pushed himself forward and off the fixture. Instead of grabbing the grey wolfs throat, the dug was stuck with its teeth sunk in Tsume's shoulder.

Boxes were scattered from the impact, but Tsume was the first up and ran straight under Suzume's perch. The female watched as the dog lay still, but was relieved to see it still breathing.

Then she took off, following splats of deep red blood. The scent of Tsume was naturally a pine-type smell, but now began to mix with the salt-based scent of his blood.

By time she caught up he was entering the building he had previously labeled as his 'residence'.

"You shouldn't be over working yourself; you'll only make the wound worse." Suzume said when she was sure he could sense her presence behind him.

Tsume was silent and instead began his trek up the many stairs, his blood falling more and more with each step. He did not speak again and Suzume saw nothing to be gained by berating a stone. The female stayed near Tsume for the remainder of the day. Despite his constant growls at any attempt by her to lend a helping hand, he had not asked her to leave.

When darkness finally fell over the city, he had been kind enough to offer her some of his food, which she accepted heartily.

"Why do you live here?" Suzume suddenly asked from the floor.

Tsume couldn't help but picture the night before when there had been the young pup in her place. "It's a place to live and I'm at the status of leader."

"Well then you aren't a very good one." There was no hidden meaning or malice in her words, just pure observation.

"What do you know?" Tsume growled at her before turning to look out the window.

There was a pause as Tsume calmed himself.

The female stared openly at him, try to perceive his thoughts. "Why are you still here?"

He knew that she meant more to her inquiry then just a simple question. She was wondering why he still came back to this place, knowing that his followers had been arrested already. Why was he here when he knew there was nothing left to be taken from this city?

Just as he was about the answer, the door slammed open, causing him to jump off the window ledge and stand in attack mode. The female seemed tense, but had heard the intruders on their way up the stairs.

The pup of the group called out Tsume's name in earnest.

"You." Tsume looked from the boy to the white wolf incredulously.

"Is this the guy?" The third wolf asked.

"I smelled your blood." The white wolf said and with piecing eyes looked toward Suzume, who looked back just as blatantly.

"What?" Tsume relaxed his stance slightly.

The white wolf turned his eyes back onto Tsume, "The scent led from the city all the way to this place."

Tsume retorted back, but was ignored by the rest of the group as the pup spoke up.

"Tsume, I…You know…Let's go together. Let's get out of this town together."

"Where do you plan to go all bunched up like that?" Tsume reply sarcastically.

Suzume could tell, see it in the white wolf's eyes; they were going…"To Paradise."

Surprised the white wolf turned toward her, but Tsume's reaction stopped any words from escaping.

"Why did you guys come to this town?" the white wolf asked, "Wasn't it because of the flowers scent? There is no reason for us to be here anymore."

"I don't care about the flower's scent. This is my kind of town." Tsume said starring out the window.

Suzume answered his statements meaningfully, "You're right. This town is filthy, after all."

Tsume's bright eyes turned toward her with menace, before glaring at the white wolf. Taking a wide stride forward, Tsume looked directly into the blue eyes of the white wolf's illusion. "Didn't you say your pride wouldn't forgive you for being in human form? What happened to that worthless pride of yours?"

Taking a small step forward, the white wolf's eyes hardened with finalization, "It hasn't gone anywhere, and it hasn't changed either."

"Do you understand what leaving this town means?"

"Yes."

"You'll just end up dead."

"Dying or being killed isn't something unnatural. Living aimlessly without a purpose is…"

Tension hung in the air as Tsume clenched his jaw knowing there was no denying the other wolf's words. A blinding light filtered in through the window as a mess of running footsteps could be heard coming up the stairwell. The authorities were coming and regardless of what Tsume choose to do, they needed to get out of the building fast.

Suzume was the first to move, breaking the eye contact between the grey and white wolf, as well as bringing their attention back to the situation at hand. The white wolf easily took the lead as they all began their assent to the rooftops. Once on the roof Tsume called their attention to the many above ground pipelines just a few buildings away. Quickly they jumped from roof to roof making their way to their intended target.

The sounds from the gunshots below was deafening as the wolves finally made it to the pipelines. Suzume followed on a lower pipeline she knew Tsume would take to dissuade the authorities from following the group. She looked up in time to see the pup's leg slip his small from groping for something to haul himself back up. He was hanging on by a mere broken pipeline. The look on Tsume's face resonated of horror as he rushed to the pup and pulled him to safety.

Tsume, as predicted, jumped down to the lower pipelines just behind Suzume. From above the call of 'Tsume' from the pup could be heard, but then more gunshots came and everything else was blocked out.

"What are you doing? Go follow them." Tsume growled to the female as they stopped inside of a large tunnel.

She turned her large brown eyes on him, "Come with us. There's nothing that waits for you here, but death."

Tsume growled and shook his head.

"Tsume…" Her pleading voice made the grey wolf snap his eyes toward her.

"Just go!"

"You're giving up too easily." With a final glance back the female began to run out of the tunnel, knowing that Tsume would be on her heals momentarily.

When at last Tsume made his appearance they all paused, but broke into a run when more gunshots were fired. They made their way to the top of the wall that protected the dome city from the harsh exterior.

There was a blizzard outside of the dome. The white wolf and the pudgy wolf jumped first, both landing perfectly on a decrepit building below. The female wolf watched as Tsume kick the pup into jumping, before she herself made the leap.

Tsume stood on the wall, staring at the other wolves.

"Are you afraid?" The white wolf asked.

A smirk broke out of the grey wolf's face, "Don't kid me."

Suzume let a smile form as they ran into the bare landscape; she was free from that horrible place and on her way to Paradise.

**A/N- **Okay, well that "break" was unpredicted! I'm sorry I messed up my schedule badly and then I didn't have TIME. I hadn't expected my first semester at college to be quite as demanding as it has been, in fact instead of writing this chapter I SHOULD be writing my english paper. You guys are more important though (well...kinda)! Anyway, I figured the best way to do this is to scedule writing times and so the next 'time' I'll be writing for this story should be either this saturday or sunday.

Thank you to anyone who has reviewed, continues to review or _will_ review. I'm extremely grateful (and sorry for the HUGE delay).


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – The Call of Instincts

They had made their introductions long ago and run for hours without a word of exchange. When at last they did stop twenty four hours after their start, it was only for a short amount of time. They had all huddled under a rock formation and slept. This continued for another three days until they eventually had to pause due to a blizzard. It rendered all the senses of the wolves useless. That was when they came upon a cave, which offered protection from the harsh whipping wind and thickly falling snow.

The pup, Toboe, sat on the ground beside Hige, both of which were discussing the length of time all the wolves had gone without eating. It had been four days since any of them had even smelt anything edible.

Tsume, from his lounging position on a rock shelf stared out at the blizzard wishing the two wolves would cease talking. Opposite of the grey wolf sat Suzume who was nearly sleeping against the cold rock ground when suddenly Tsume voiced his thoughts.

"If you hold the moonlight in your mouth, you should be able to last for a while." There was a short silence that passed over the group as everyone now looked at Kiba's standing form. "I've traveled on it for a month."

Hige sat up in surprise, "A whole month?"

The white wolf went on to explain that the snow would soon clear and the moon would be out. Suzume lifter her head and stared out of the caves entrance at what looked like a never ending blizzard, but she could sense it too. The snow was getting lighter and thinner, even if it was still coming down just as fast. Soon the clouds would disperse and evening would be upon them.

"Or we could just eat our selves in this order," Tsume started in a thick tone, "The weakest kid goes first, followed by the fat one…"

Toboe, riled by the notion, shot up into a straight backed sitting position. "Why did you leave Kiba and Suzume out?"

The white wolf turned slightly to lock eyes with Tsume, both holding heat in their gaze. The pup stood up in hopes of calming the silent feud, but was interrupted by Suzume. She lifted herself into a standing position and walked over to the two males.

"Tsume is just being cynical because he knows it will rile you up, but he also knows that it will take your mind momentarily off of your stomachs. These snide comments, however, are not needed." She cast a warning glance at the grey wolf who in turn gritted his teeth in her direction.

Before Suzume could make her way back to the cool surface of her proclaimed bed, Hige was running out of the cave entrance. The group stared after his retreating form in confusion, before following him footfalls. The snow had calmed during their tensed state to a bare flurry and Hige stopped running they were clear of the snow and on a hill. Near the top lay a deceased deer; it was malnourished but still had meat on its bones.

"I wonder where it came from…" Toboe spoke to break the quieted state that the group had fallen in. "Dying alone in a place like this."

Tsume watched as Hige sniffed the deer, "You're going to eat it?"

"And your not?"

Suzume stood beside Tsume watching as the others began to rip pieces of meat off and barely chewing before swallowing. She turned her gaze onto Tsume who was staring at them incredulously and slightly disgusted. Vaguely she wondered if Tsume had forgotten his wolf instincts while boarding with those humans.

"Hey, this is pretty good," Toboe commented, "Come on you two have some as well! We still have a long way to go you know."

The female slowly made her way over to the gradually disappearing deer, while Tsume began to speak. "A long way? And exactly where would that be? Would it be that 'Paradise'? Or would it be that place where the flower's scent blooms?"

Trying to make light of the situation, Toboe began to think out loud about what Paradise was like. As Hige joined in on the discussion, Suzume kept her eyes trained on the grey wolf. His anger poured forth through harsh words meant to diminish thoughts of Paradise as a place of existence. Suzume took a bite out of the dead deer before her and ignored Tsume's speech.

"How far are you willing to go, to follow this guy to a place that doesn't exist…?" Tsume snarled, his eyes roaming over the other wolves.

When Suzume felt his gaze fall onto her form she snapped her eyes to meet his own, "Until death."

At her words, everyone started and shot surprised looks at one another. Tsume's eyes glinted fiercely, "I can't take this anymore."

As the grey wolf walked away Toboe stood, calling out for Tsume's return. The pup was about to take after, when the female's voice caught him off guard. "He'll be back."

"How do you know?" Anxiously the pup began to pace.

"Where else does he have to go?" She cast one last glance at the wolf's retreating form and shook her head wearily.

Toboe looked between the group and Tsume before taking off, calling back to the group; "It's dangerous to split up."

The remaining three wolves finished eating before slowly making their way in the direction that their counterparts were headed. Kiba looked over toward the female wolf, not sure what to make of her just yet. They had barely talked outside of introductions, but not an hour prior she had placed her life in his hands. She had made it clear that in order to make it to Paradise, no in order to follow him, she would do anything…even die.

"Who are you?" Kiba inquired upon catching her eyes.

Hige snorted upon hearing the other male's words, "She's Suzume…did you forget?"

Despite herself the female smiled softly and turned her nose toward the sky to stare at its vast motionlessness. "I don't know myself."

"Whada ya mean, you don't know?" Hige looked oddly between the two other wolves as if they were speaking a completely different language.

"I don't remember anything before waking up only a week ago in that dome city. I know so many things without a single understanding of how I came to know them…" Suzume looked down from the sky to find Kiba studying her intently.

The white wolf paused in his steps, "Hige, didn't you say something along those lines?"

"Now that you mention it, I don't have many memories of before the dome city either, it feels like I've been drained of them or brainwashed."

Suzume shook her head slightly, "I don't feel as if my memories have been depleted at all…I feel as if I've never had any to begin with."

"It's impossible for you to have obtained so much information in only a few days. If in fact you were without life prior to the dome city, then you would have awakened in the same state as a new born pup." Kiba sat down and pondered over the females words.

"Hey, let's rest here a while." Hige suggested as he lay down on the hard ground.

Suzume sat down as well and cast her eyes toward the horizon. "Kiba…"

"Yes?"

She briefly turned toward him, before looking away once again, "Have you seen her?"

"Yes."

"I thought as much, she must be very beautiful to have been so close to Paradise."

The way she had phrased her words caused Kiba to stare at her oddly; 'so close' ringing through his head. He wondered briefly if she knew more than she was letting on, but was drawn out of thought when he heard her whimper. "What's wrong?"

Suzume's wide eyes turned away from the setting sun, "Something's off."

"What do you mean?" Kiba asked, his face scrunching with concern.

She stood suddenly as if she'd been bitten by something. Suzume couldn't explain it, but as her heart came to be lodged in her throat, she knew only one thing, "Danger."

Then, faster than lightning she was off running. Kiba woke Hige from his nap and made chase. The moon was large and shone like a crystal in the night sky by time the two males could recognize that they were headed toward Tsume and the pup. They followed silently as the female made her way down the sheer side of a cliff and came in contact with the icy ground below. She moved agilely and fastidious in her adrenaline-induced state and didn't spare a glance toward the others. A howl caused both males to give slightly pause in their strides, but only further proved to push Suzume to run faster.

She could smell it; a machine, its metallic scent caused her teeth to ache. It took only a few more running steps for the huge thing to become visible. Her eyes caught sight of Tsume, who seemed to have been injured in some regard.

"Kiba!"

The white wolf pushed himself to run parallel to the Suzume, "I understand."

With that the machine turned its mechanical head toward the running wolves and took aim on Kiba. Suzume called for Hige to get Toboe and continued her course toward the grey wolf. Said being sat with a surprised look on his face as he watched Kiba's retreating form. Suzume quickly placed herself half under Tsume and pushed him into a standing position.

"I'm fine!" He snarled at her.

"Then stop sitting there and hurry up!" As she finished her sentence Hige appeared from an icy cliff above them and called for them to hurry. They began their accent hastily as the sound of a machine gun's fire reached them from a near distance.

"We have to hurry!" Suzume called as she jumped from one landings edge to another.

"We already know!" Hige yelled back.

"No! I mean there's an avalanche coming!" At her words everyone seemed to perk up and move faster. It didn't take long before the rumbling of the avalanche began to shake the very structures they were using as stepping stones. Just as the landings began to collapse, the group of four found themselves at the very top looking down at the river of snow.

"That was close." Toboe stated sucking a lung full of much needed air.

They all sat in silence as the night passed on with no sight of the white wolf. Then as dawn made itself know they saw the outline of a wolf's frame. Toboe was the first to his feet, his tail wagging with delight. As Kiba approached them Hige asked if he was doing okay, in which he received a positive reply.

Tsume still had his back to the other wolves, "I didn't ask for this. For what reason…did you have to go that far?..Not because we're 'friends' I hope."

"It was simply instinct." Suzume replied with a fond smile toward Kiba; a silent thanks for his help.

The grey wolf stood and attempted to take a step with his injured leg and nearly fell. Suzume laughed lightly as she helped his straighten himself out and told him not to put too much pressure on his leg.

"That reminds me," Hige spoke up as the group slowly began to make its way yonder. "You've got some sharp instincts to have known so well in advance that those two were in danger."

Suzume offered a smile toward the bigger wolf, "I didn't know it was them…I just felt the need to run."

"Huh?" Toboe exclaimed, "You mean you just felt like running? You didn't mean to save us?"

"Something along those lines…" Suzume laughed jauntily causing Tsume to complain that she was disturbing his wound.

**A/N – **Sorry for how long it's been, I've been pretty swamped with work. Thank you for waiting so patiently and to anyone who reviews. I have mixed feelings about this chapter and I wasn't so sure about revealing so much about Suzume in such a short amount of time, but she's such a truthful character…I just don't see her hiding much from the others.

I hope you enjoyed.

P.S. – Suggestions and reviews are always welcome. ;)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Fallen Wolf, Failing Vision**

A few more days passed and still the wolves ran. They ran through and over snow without so much as a word from Tsume and little else from Kiba. It wasn't until Toboe started talking about a dream he'd had the other night that conversation began to circulate.

"And Granny was there and she made lots of delicious food!" Toboe continued to rattle off what had occurred during his time of sleep.

"So you plan to be fed by humans, even in Paradise?" Tsume's words although unfeeling, didn't hold the same harshness to them that they had only a week earlier.

Toboe shook his head, "That's not it."

Suzume giggled lightly as the pup continued to explain his dream and kept getting interjected by Hige. When the pup concluded that Kiba hadn't spoken about what paradise was truly like, he only received a smile. Then he turned toward Suzume.

"You know too, don't you? What paradise is really like…"

Suzume smiled and stood, feeling that their break was winding to a close, "Regardless, you'll have to do some extra dreaming to make up for Tsume's deficit."

The grey wolf growled deeply in his throat at the insult, which only caused Hige to unleash his barking laughter. Then, like every other day, the group of wolves began to run again.

It wasn't until a few hours and a flurry of snow that the group slowed its pace. Kiba came to a halt when he reached the top of a hill and looked off into the distance. Once the others joined him, they all began the trek toward the railroad tracks down below. It didn't take long for them to arrive onto the old concrete and metal, snow dusted bridge.

The faint scent of lunar flower tickled all five noses. It was a warm yet cool scent that left one wondering if they indeed smelled something real or if it was just their imagination. Toboe ran ahead, shouting about Paradise and panting with joy.

Tsume looked over toward the tri-colored female who was glaring at the ground. "What's the matter, don't want to go to Paradise any more?"

Suzume couldn't explain it, "This place isn't Paradise", but something didn't sit right. Something was telling her to go, but remain cautious. There was a moment when the pit in her stomach dropped to the ocean waters below. Then, without a second thought, she ran to catch up to the other wolves.

They hopped over the enclosing wall of the shabby city they had arrived at. Inside looked much like the outside had eluded, old and decrepit. The people inside seemed bothered by their presence and Tsume guessed it was because outsiders were rare. Eventually, they were met with the sight of a group of wolves gathered between two brick buildings. The wolves looked tired and worn, but this didn't stop they from sending the newcomers steel glares.

"Where are you headed?" The presumed leader of the group asked.

Before anyone could give a proper answer, Toboe shot out his own response. "To Paradise!"

When they all started laughing the pup scrunched his eyes together and asked Kiba why. "They don't know about Paradise."

This quieted the hackling of the others instantly. The leader spoke once again, "We know about Paradise, it's just a legend."

"A legend?" Toboe repeated the words softly, while concentrating hard on the cold ground below him.

A different member of the haggard wolf group spoke up, "We've been there. Except it wasn't Paradise, it was more like Hell."

"I knew it." Tsume whispered, receiving an elbow from Suzume.

"You'd be better off not looking for Paradise." The leader spoke up again making a point to drop his voice a level. "Now scram. There's bound to be a place where you fit in."

The others began to walk away as Toboe pulled lightly at Suzume who stood facing the wolves with hardened eyes. "There's no use listening to someone who's been institutionalized."

When she was satisfied that their mocking laughter had died, Suzume began to walk away as well. The group continued on in silence for a short while, simply walking around.

Finally Tsume caved in, "To think I've been laughed at by a bunch of miserable geezers."

"Aren't you just like them in a way?" Questioned Hige.

Tsume turned back toward the plump wolf, "What did you say?"

Holding up his hand Hige replied, "Oh, no…I'm just saying let's not end up like them…"

"I'm scared of this town. Even though there's so many wolves, it's so cold." The pup worried his bottom lip.

Not being able to handle all of the depressing conversation, Suzume saw it fit to break the tension, "I'll warm you up Toboe!"

With that the female nearly toppled Toboe over as she enthusiastically hugged him. At her actions, Toboe couldn't stop a small smile from breaking loose.

"There's something here," Kiba interrupted, "There are so many wolves here after all."

A frown marred Suzume's face, "Let's continue on, perhaps there's a clue somewhere."

It wasn't until twenty minutes later that all the wolves were seated on the large concrete wall and the sun had gone down. The loud growl of a stomach caught everyone's attention; it had turned out to be Hige's. Yet, as if in response, Tsume's growled as well. The female took her chances and poked Tsume's stomach causing him to sit up straight.

Suzume threw her hands in front of her, "Just checking that there's not a monster inside of you. At any rate, we need to find a place to sleep."

Then the group was on the move again.

"This'll be a good place to stay for the night." Tsume remarked in a low voice as if he was trying not to wake the dead…literally. The traveling group found themselves with a graveyard, the only source of scarce plant life, even if it was all dried up or frosted over.

Hige groaned slightly, "There doesn't seem to be any food around…"

"Sure there is…" Suzume remarked dryly, "You'll just have to do a bit of digging."

At her words, Hige's face contorted with disgust. The group moved further into the graveyard, searching for a good place to rest for the night. "Ne, don't you hear something weird?"

The sound of clawing or scratching met their ears, but Tsume sighed, "Don't get so easily scared."

Just as he turned to face forward again, a furious beast popped out of an open grave. Toboe and Hige yelped, both falling back toward the group as Tsume assume fighting position. Everyone saw that it was in fact just an old wolf. The first to speak was Hige, who asked what the old wolf was doing.

"Oh, I was digging my own hole." The only dark wolf stated.

"Are you digging a grave?" Kiba asked quietly.

The old wolf nodded, "When you get to be my age, you know when you're going to die."

"Then shouldn't you get on with it?" Tsume voiced coldly.

Suzume nudged Tsume with her elbow for the second time that day. "Are there any Lunar Flowers in this town?"

The old wolf's eyes lit up at the mention of the flowers and he spread his arms wide open. "This whole place used to be a flower field!... A long time ago, they used to flourish all over the island. Although, there aren't any left now that they've all been pulled out."

"What color are the flowers?"

"Color?" The old wolf looked up, "Well, the color of the moon."

Suddenly the world began to fade before Suzume's eyes as she slowly and cautiously lowered herself into a position that allowed her to lean against a gravestone. Faintly she could still hear the conversation of the now colorless world. She blinked a few times just to be sure that she wasn't dreaming and sure enough she could feel her eyelids each time they came in contact. The loss of her vision was soon accompanied by blurs of images she was sure were not there moments before then blackness surrounded her. She could make out the outline of a book, an owl and the moon. None of the items seemed to have any real correlation to her, but she was glad that once they faded away her vision was repaired once more.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Hige waved his hand in front of the female's eyes as her vision slowly refocused itself.

Suzume blushed, "Sorry…"

"Whatever, just get up already…" Tsume turned around sharply.

He was not the type to worry over someone else's well-being and he swore he'd never be that person. It wasn't as if he cared for the female. She had taken a definite form in his mind, each day adding something new and this behavior was one he had never experienced. Tsume wondered if it was normal for her to be spacey, because he had never seen her that way before.

They arrived at a boarded up tunnel and were told that it was the entrance. The smell of death was overwhelming as the group stood only a meter away from it. The she-wolf focused her attention on Kiba, who with wide eyes, walked closer to the tunnel. Upon hearing the geezers words of warning, the white wolf paused mid step. Kiba's sharp eyes landed on a figure that stood behind the old man, the leader of the dumpy city wolf pack.

"Daisho, that's enough for today." Everyone focused their attention on the new speaker, but Suzume kept her gaze trained forward. "We have work to do tomorrow."

As the old wolf began to walk away, Kiba directed a question toward the younger opposing wolf, "Is this the road to Paradise that you guys were talking about?"

"I told you that a place like that doesn't exist." The other wolf rebuked in slight disdain.

"Zari…" Daisho's old voice seemed suddenly to transform from gravel to an assertive, robust wolfling.

The wolf labeled Zari continued the conversation on in a different direction, "If you do anything like steal food from us, I won't go easy on you. Hurry up and leave before morning comes!"

After watching the two wolves depart, the remaining group of wolves found a broken, stone burial of sorts. Kiba stood looking toward the tunnel, which was not far from their housing. Suzume settles herself close to the wall and let her eyes close for a short while. The moment was soon lost when Tsume spoke toward the white wolf.

"There's no such thing as paradise, " Tsume continued, "They've even been there, yet they claim there isn't one."

Not moving from his position the white wolf replied, "That must not have been the true paradise."

"Exactly where does that confidence of yours come from? It's all just nonsense. There's no guarantee that we'll ever reach it either. This kind of journey is just stupid."

Toboe's soft voice flitted through the group, "Stop it, you'll just get hungrier if you fight like that."

Suzume suddenly found a renewed jealousy of the resting Hige, though she knew he was only pretending...it still looked nice. She tried to block out Tsume's biting words and closed her weary eyes once more. Listening still she could her Kiba's voice speak on the subject of Paradise.

A soft growl sounded from Suzume as she heard the approach of another wolf and in the same instant Hige had pushed himself into a sitting position. There, an older female wolf rounded the corner of their shelter and with a smile asked if they were hungry. Hige practically drooled at the mention of food, much to the others' disgust. Kiba walked away with Toboe in tow.

The female turned at last toward Tsume and Suzume, "You two should eat as well."

Suzume studied the loaf of bread in Hige's hands and knew that he would probably eat the whole thing. "Did you hear me? The journey is over. There is no place to go."

At Tsume's words Hige sighed and asked the older female her thoughts to which she replied, "My name is Corr, it would be nice if you could stay here forever."

Without uttering another word, Tsume stood and departed from the fixture as well. Suzume found herself standing as well, "I'm sorry for everyone's behavior…we're all a bit tired."

Corr nodded and smiled sweetly. The younger wolf excused herself and made after Tsume. It didn't take long to find him and to ascertain that he was following the scent of Kiba and Toboe. Both wolves stayed silent as they walked and a slow, gentle pace. Suzume found that though she had been begging for silence earlier, this type of silence was unnerving.

"Does your injury give you much pain any longer?"

"No."

Here she sighed, knowing that conversing with him was going to be hard, "I'm glad. It will make the journey ahead easier on you."

Grey furred legs paused mid-stride and a similar colored snout turned toward her with the teeth bared, "What journey? There is no journey."

"Of course there is," Suzume refuted, "if there weren't then we would not have made it this far."

The rest of his body swung around and he snarled, "Your faith is foolhardily given."

"And your brash temper is causing my patience to wear thin. You can feel it, I know you can; the hum, the anticipation that Paradise is only a few more steps away!" In her anger, she had made her way forward and backed him into a wall.

He stilled himself, his own anger draining at her words. It was true that he felt …something, but what exactly it was remain to be unseen. "This is ridiculous…there's no such thing as Paradise."

"There is," Suzume whispered, "I can prove it to you."

"Impossible." The grey wolf stated, his body moving forward as a challenge.

"You want me to prove it, I can tell. You desperately want me to show you that there is a Paradise."* At her eager words Tsume growled lowly in his throat.

Ignoring him, she took a step forward until her mouth lay beside his ear. She stayed like that for a second, relishing in the way their faces sometimes brushed. Then her voice came out in a low whisper, "Just give me the word and I'll prove it. You may not like the way I do it, but I will."

Then she moved away and turned around to go find Kiba and Toboe. It didn't take long, the pair were walking just short of where she had left Tsume. After a slight push from Suzume, Toboe made his way to the grey wolf. Kiba began then to head in a different direction, not wanting to see the grey wolf just yet. The multi-colored she-wolf stayed beside her white counterpart.

"He will come around, he just needs time to adjust to a few things."

Kiba was silent and the she-wolf soon fell into the same silence as well.

Just so no one is confused, she did NOT say that in a sexual way and nor was it taken as such.

**P.S. –** I'm the worst. I know. I had this written and stored for the longest time. I figured that instead of botching the whole fic, I might as well post and see if anybody is still interested.


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